Witnessing History: Tibetan Protests in Dharamsala

One thing I have learned about India is that you just never know what’s around the corner here. “Planning” can be such a challenge because at least half the time activities that you have planned end up either cancelled or more likely moved to another day. Having a set schedule is virtually impossible and one must learn to not be attached to the itinerary. This is a lost cause and “going with the flow” is the only way to go here. Like the Mother Ganga River, things move forward and steadily but may encounter rocks or other obstacles that cause them to simply move and keep on. As we have all heard so many times…life is about the journey, not the destination.

And so our journey has taken a turn. I will write about the beginning of the kid’s arrival in India in a few days. I must take some time to write about the current situation we are witnessing for our group finds itself in the midst of history. We arrived yesterday in Dharamsala, home of his Holiness and the Tibetan refugees. After a long journey (12 hour train ride, 4 hour pit stop at a hotel in the middle of the night where we slept 6 in a room, 3 hour drive), we were all hungry and went straight to breakfast at Shangri-La, home of the best banana pancakes in India and served by a lovely group of monks. It was quite odd that at 10am the restaurant was closed. Ah, India. You just never know…So we went to our old stand-by, Nick’s, which also had great food and a patio with Himalayan views. Town felt so quiet and strange. Why were all the stores closed? Even though it was Sunday, that is normally not an excuse. Upon inquiry we learned that the Tibetans were in protest. Their stores were shut down and restaurants closed. It has been 4 days now. The Dalai Lama who was supposed to be traveling at this time is here and held a press conference this morning from his residence, just minutes from our hotel. Our free time for “shopping” has now been consumed by this historic event. Our itinerary changes each hour as we try to accommodate for the lack of Tibetan business open.

Just about a hour ago we stood in the streets to witness over 2000 students, monks, old, young raise their flags and march the streets. Adorned with face paint, they chanted their desires for freedom and justice. They chanted the Dalai Lama’s name again and again. It was so powerful that I found myself in tears. How horrible that here are all these wonderful, amazingly peaceful people filled with more compassion that the whole world combined, screaming for their freedom! I kept thinking about our lives at home where people complain about not having a cool enough car or a big enough plasma tv or what they are going to do for vacation and these young people haven’t seen their homes and families since they were little babies. Their homeland has swiftly and forcefully been stripped from beneath their feet. They are displaced. Sure, India’s nice and all, but it’s not the same.

There is a candlelight vigil each night at the Dalai Lama’s temple. Tomorrow morning will we walk with the monks to the temple to participate and chant in solidarity. There are news postings everywhere about the atrocities… The Chinese opened tear gas and killed over 80 people. Monks have burned themselves alive in protest. And yet, the Chinese aren’t leaking the real story and say they have only killed 13 people. But news travels fast and we are in the heart of it. There are pictures showing what has happened and names of the monasteries affected by the Chinese.

No worries about our group. We are safe. Like I said, there is not a more peaceful group than the Buddhists and the Indian government is allowing them to voice their opinion. I feel proud to have a flag that was passed out in the main square yesterday pinned on my bag. I will hang in my yoga studio. It is so sad to me that these poor people are at the mercy of the Chinese who have destroyed their heritage so deep in spirituality. Their entire message of compassion tested each moment of each day. How can they win against the most powerful nation in the world? It seems nearly impossible but non-violence ultimately will prevail. Killing with kindness, that’s their way. The Chinese are in a vulnerable spot by holding the Olympics in their country this summer. The world is watching. Please take a stance against the Beijing Olympics and maybe something will change. These people need our help. Stephen Spielberg turned down being the set director. Richard Gere is supposedly on his way here to help. If enough people recognize the cultural genocide that is taking place, maybe the Chinese will do something for them. I don’t know…all I know is that I saw the faces of these young people so passionate about their livelihood and it just struck a nerve. Big time. How is it that this is allowed to happen in front of our eyes with no consequences?

As I write this, the noise is getting louder. The swelling crowd is outside my window now. They are back. Incredible. I just looked and there are many more monks than before. I must go now…I need to go see more and will report back when I can.

As I stand just feet from the action, how is it that my camera is not with me? Talk about feeling like my hands were cut off. Watching camera crews, newsmen, bystanders snapping away, I am dying without my camera. Boooooo……

For more information, here are a few stories I found.

www.smh.com.au/news/world/uprising-is-just-beginning-exiles-say/2008/03/16/1205602195410.html

www.nytimes.com/2008/03/17/world/asia/17tibet.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&hp

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7299965.stm

Rishikesh: The Transformation

Hello Again!

Time flies when you’re traveling in India and have no concept of days...it's weird, it could be Wednesday or Saturday for all I know most of the time. As long as there's no plane, train or rickshaw to catch, there is a timelessness to each day that only adds to the confusion.

The inaugural Redback trip has come and gone. Everyone made it home in one piece with minimal sickness and experiences of a lifetime that our group will cherish forever. Course, it wasn’t all roses and we certainly got screwed (mostly in Delhi) but that comes with traveling in this country and it kept us on our toes. Our mantra is “Live and Learn” and each time something negative happens, there is always a positive on the flip side in which we learn a valuable lesson and try not to let it happen the next time. Our group was so patient and flexible which helped us get through such a fantastic few weeks!

I left you in Rishikesh at the International Yoga Fest that we participated in for a week. Words can’t describe what we all experienced here. The caliber of swamis and yoga teachers was about as good as they come. We took in more in a week than most will in a lifetime in the West. It truly affected each and every person and there was something exciting and interesting for every member in our group. They even had kid’s yoga for Sofie!

Ryan and I woke up super early to practice a little on our own…he would meditate in our room and I would go up to the roof to practice. It was so nice to sit quietly in the dark and just listen to the sounds…there is always music or prayers happening in some corner and even that early, music permeated the valley. Class started at 6am and various classes went all day until the Aarti Ceremony on the banks of the Ganges River at 6pm. There were a couple of 45 minute breaks during the day but it was pretty much all yoga, all day, all week. Oh yeah…

You ask…all yoga all day, how did you survive? Well seeing as though we are in India where the yoga is completely different, it was actually quite easy since many of the classes involved meditation, pranayama (breathing techniques) and lectures. What was quite obvious throughout the week is how much the West has managed to butcher yoga. Truly, the whole premise of this ancient science is spirituality. Yoga has always been a way to find God… God in the sense of the inner light that resides inside each of us…God that pervades all religions and is ultimately the same for every religion…The idea that “I am.” The physical postures and breathing techniques are merely tools to settle the body for mediation. Then meditation is practiced to sit quietly and ultimately become enlightened. Course, very few actually get that far but it is the daily practice which counts. Learning and practicing various yoga techniques to find stillness within is the key to unlocking this inner spirit and the key to tapping into our consciousness. Learning to love without attachments and give without needing anything in return is a practice that we must learn to cultivate on a daily basis and which has been so lost in our society.

One day, Gormukh, the Kundalini teacher, spoke about giving just for the heck of it all day and see how it felt. So I tried it…I gave smiles to the beggars and said Namaste to everyone. I gave a few handicapped people a little money and fed the dogs. She was so right, it felt great and changed my whole week for the better. So try it today…give to those you come in contact with…could be a smile, could be money, could be a hello, could be letting someone in your lane while driving. Just try it and see how your day changes. Then try it again tomorrow, and the next day…

We did have one active class a day…some chose to do Iyengar with a master teacher from Bombay who studied with BKS Iyengar for 20 years. Birtho wore these awesome diaper pants tied up around his belly and was extremely insiteful. I learned a few things I never knew in his first class where we did 3 poses in 2 hours (we there was a LOT of talking in between). Some took a Vinyasa class from Duncan Peak who is a famous instructor in Australia. And the rest went to Gormukh, the preeminent Kundalini teacher from LA who studied with Yogi Bhajan for over 30 years. Her class did not disappoint. About 200 people joined together on the banks of the Mother Ganga to do the yoga and be a part of her inspiration. I know I can speak for the women who felt the transformation from her classes…she left us with such a grounded feeling of empowerment, love and respect for the spirit. We really dove deep into the depths of our consciousness and each time, I left with a feeling of…Oh my god, what just happened? It almost felt surreal. As Hilary so poignantly said after her second class, “Let’s see….one free yoga class or 4 years of therapy?” Her classes were that profound.

For those who don’t know what the heck Kundalini yoga is, it’s a type of yoga where you do fast motion exercises for long periods of time (up to 11 minutes). The motions become meditations and chanting along to this great music cranked on the loud speakers kept us going. The exercises tap into the nervous system and get prana (life force energy) flowing from the base of the spine. It can be so challenging and make you want to kill someone but if you let go of your ego and close your eyes and chant and feed off the people around you, anything is possible…or as they say in India “Sub Kulch Malega.” Other times we did random meditations (like stick your tongue out and move it all over the place for 22 minutes) but each exercise had a purpose and each class had a theme. People cried, laughed, yelled, whatever….but the point was to let it go, to be free. Each day we danced in a humungo dance party shakin’ it all over the place to this awesome music. The crowd of Indians who watched us from above must have thought we were so weird! Even I thought I was weird but it just felt so good to let loose and get down.

Another amazing aspect of the festival were the lectures and question/answer sessions, or “Satsangs” with the revered Swamis. Their messages on yoga, or the union of body and soul, love, reincarnation, the western vs eastern view of death, how to live a happy life and a million other topics left everyone in awe. They answered some great questions asked by young children and truly affected all those who heard them. The most impressive Swami, H.H. Sri Shankaracharya Swami Divyanand Teerthji, wore yellow sandalwood paste all over his entire forehead with a HUGE red dot in the middle, an orange cloth, some big mala beads and these sandals that I still have no clue how they work…basically, they were a wood plank with this mushroom looking wood piece where a flip flop’s toe piece goes. The catch was that there was no strap and the mushroom was extremely wide. So he put that in between his toes and walks? Whoa. Then a guy with an orange staff followed him wherever he went. How cool would that be to have an assistant staff holder wherever you went? Shankaracharya looked imposing to say the least and would chant in this very deep voice which only added to the mystery. But the second he opened his mouth, he spoke in perfect English and quoted phrases from the Bible, the Bhaghivad Gita, The Yoga Sutras and countless English poets. He completely captivated the audience with his insight and brilliance.

The last major highlight (there were about 100 at least) happened one morning when the entire festival participated in an event called the Yoga Aid Challenge where we raised over $60k for children in need around India. Twelve teachers led 9 sun salutations each to comprise of 108 total. Held on the banks of the Ganges, it was so fantastic to all join together in our love for yoga to help those in need. We did twelve totally different styles of the traditional sun salutation…a Japanese taught a totally unique set, a Kundalini teacher taught her own version, David Saul Raye did his own unique style and on and on. Who knew there were so many ways to do the same thing? The first day of the festival, I received a letter under our door asking me to be a leader. While flattered, I avoided responding to the organizer for a few days. I was just too nervous. I mean, it’s one thing to teach your friends, but something totally different to lead 400 people, many of whom were teachers themselves. But something inside me just kept saying that for some reason I was asked to participate and it was up to me to step up to the challenge and help the children. So there I found myself up on the stage standing next to a 98 year old revered Swami wearing an orange robe and the guru of the Ashram, Swamiji overlooking a sea of people with a microphone on my chest. My theme was for everyone to “give” their salutations with their heart to those in need rather than “do” their salutations with their muscles and bones. Leading each move with their heart center in order to radiate the inner light and soften their bodies added to the love felt from everyone on that special morning. It was definitely my biggest challenge as a teacher (and public speaker) and to be in the presence of 11 other heavy hitting yoga teachers was a little overwhelming but I held my own and even had a cheering section from my group at the end. Thanks team Redback!

Anyway, I could go on and on….the festival was definitely the highlight of my yoga career and one of my favorite experiences ever in India. People joined together from all over the world and even though we spoke many languages, we all united in the language of spirituality. We left feeling inspired and with a renewed sense of self and an inner peace that will surely continue even through the craziness of our lives at home.

Other fun activities the group participated in were swimming and cleansing away our sins in the Mata Ganga, visiting the abandoned ashram where the Beatles were inspired to write the White Album, eating organic salad and fresh rhododendron juice at a children’s orphanage and of course…SHOPPING! I think our group definitely bought at least half of India and certainly supported the local economy.

Check out more details about the festival at www.parmarth.com/yogafestival.html

From the festival, we sadly left to get on the train to Delhi. Sadly is the key word here because we were on such a high. We arrived at the train station only to have my small bag missing and Laura’s suitcase gone. Randomly, an Australian approached our group carrying my bag. What? Somehow it got mixed up in their stuff. Then we luckily found Laura’s bag at the Ashram…it never got on the porter’s cart! At least it wasn’t gone and with some serious logistics, we managed to get it on Gormukh’s bus and at their hotel where it was picked up successfully.

Then sadly sadly sadly….we arrived in Delhi where I went to get my camera bag and…and…it was GONE! My brand new, super fancy camera….GONE. Needless to say, I just about died when I figured it out. All week we discussed non-attachment. OK. Did we really need to practice it right away with my pride and joy? The New Delhi train station was totally traumatizing with the sea of people at our feet and total chaos and losing my camera felt borderline suicidal. I left the group so that I could go to the station manager (total nightmare and one of those times when you realize how ass backwards this country really is). Then I found Ryan but we lost the group. Then we found the group at the hotel. Oh man…it was horrible. But thank god for everyone having a laminated emergency contact card with all the hotel info because they all got there in one piece. Phew!

The next morning we woke up super early to get back on the train to head to Agra. I had to file a police report which was comical except for the subject matter. Police are NOT your friends here…they are lazy and corrupt and hate working. I explained my story: Basically, when we got on the train, I put my backpack and camera bag on my seat. Then Ryan and I helped our group get on the train (we only had a 5 minute window) and get their bags up on the rack. My eyes had left my bag and Wham! Camera was stolen. In hindsight, I had taken a photo of the group waiting for the train and someone must have watched me and followed me onto the train. So many lessons I have learned as a result. The old "live and learn" mantra came back with a vengeance this time.

Before the police would remotely help, we sat and drank chai. Typical.Then I sat through their version of work which was painfully slow…each time the officer filled out a sheet, he had to put 3 carbon copies (lined up perfectly) under each sheet. I was in a hurry and thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown. As they say in India….slowly slowly! My favorite part was at the end, when the “staple guy” swooped in…his job was to staple my sheets together. Only he couldn’t find the stapler so he used a pin instead. I guess everyone needs a job here, huh? Finally I got my report and ran to the train which left 5 minutes after. Phew again!

Our fast train to Agra, home of the Taj Mahal was easy. Sanjay our guide met us with long necklaces made of fresh roses, jasmine and marigolds and escorted us to our huge bus. Were we in Hawaii? Oh, I guess the hawkers and beggars would make that a negative. But for a second, we felt nice. On to the Hilton….or should we say paradise? After staying at the cold Annex, the small and not as clean as I remember ashram and an ok but in a sketchy neighborhood hotel in Delhi, this place felt like the best hotel ever. Funny how our outlook had changed after such a short period. It really made us all appreciate the little things…shampoo, hot water with a real showerhead, the hair dryer, a buffet breakfast with all sorts of yummy foods that we hadn’t seen in weeks. They even had a credit card key that we could have two of if we wanted. We were living LARGE! Compared to the other guests at the hotel (stuffy and way too clean) we looked sooooo hilarious….as Adam would say we were officially “India’ed Out”….flowing clothes, bangles, jewelry, dirty hair, flip flops…the whole 9 yards. We were pros at this point.

Our first stop was to have Lungar at the Sikh Temple. Our guide said it was the first time he’d ever taken a group there. We were officially seeing the real India. Basically, if you go to any Sikh temple, they will serve anyone and everyone a free all you can eat meal consisting of rice, spicy dal and a chapati. The only catch is that you can’t leave anything on your plate. We sat on the floor while these Sikh guys with swords on their belts served it up. After our breakfast feast, we weren’t exactly starving but we chowed down anyway. It was so cool!

From there we visited the historic and amazing Agra Fort and went to a marble factory to see how they make inlayed marble which was pretty interesting except for the annoying sales people pushing marble afterwards. Then it was back to paradise and to the bar…a BAR? We managed to throw back a bunch of Kingfishers and red wine. Our yogi ways went to the wayside that night but after all we’d been through, we needed a night to have fun with the girls! Poor Ryan probably wanted to curl up and die but he’s a trooper and we had a blast.

On our way back to Delhi we stopped for a fantastic lunch at the main Hari Krishna temple and checked out another famous ashram. The drive was long but as always, non-stop excitement. It only took us about 4 hours to go 30 miles.

The group left that night and into the morning. Trish and Martha stayed an extra day in Delhi so we went to Fab India and I managed to find the cutest store where we all went crazy. We also managed to send a small shopkeeper to the police buy merely buying his spices. The mafia is everywhere and the big guys win. We inadvertently didn’t buy from the main guy so he called the police who took our little friend off to jail. Oh India. Sometimes it can be so tough. Rather than “getting screwed” we accidentally “screwed” someone else. It certainly didn’t feel good and hopefully the man who took my camera isn’t feeling very good either.

As usual, this country never ceases to amaze me. The roller coaster one rides here has so many ups and downs. One second the elation is so high, while just moments later the feeling of utter devastation awaits. It’s this constant reminder that nothing is permanent. Attachment to anything only leads to frustration. Have no expectations and one won’t be disappointed. Expecting things to be a certain way is virtually impossible since things changes at a second’s notice so when something amazing happens, it feels that much more special. Finding the stillness within oneself amongst the chaos outside oneself becomes the true challenge. Patience, flexibility, non-attachment to both the material and also to something like a schedule are keys to finding peace within…if one can achieve these qualities, then life here becomes quite simple. Ha…Good luck!

Lastly, to our group….thank you so much for possessing the ability to be flexible and patient. We were so fortunate to have such an amazing group of women (and little Sofie) to share our love for India. We know that you are all going home with a new outlook on life and there isn’t one person who wasn’t affected in some way. After what we learned, shared and experienced, we are all in each other’s hearts forever. Like someone who was at a Dead show in ‘77 or a Panic show in ‘97….you were there!

Love and light to you all….

Redback Travels: Live from India

Namaste from India! For those of you new to my postings, welcome. For those of you who are familiar with them...well...I'll try as usual to make things short but you know the drill…you may be in for a book report which I'll quiz you on when I get back.

What can I say....ahhhh.....Mother India. There are so many times I ask myself why my life keeps bringing me back here and then so many times right after that I remember what it is about this country that is so unique and special....the unpredictability, the slowness bordering on laziness, the chaos, the filth, the purity, the soul, the love, the sense of security in having faith in the creator, the ancient history, the roots....this really is where it all began.

So let's begin...Ryan Redman, my fearless partner and keeper of the peace, arrived a week early only to find our hotel reservation missing and his yoga mat stolen from his bag. NICE! After a hectic week of logistics, our group of 14 women and one 5 year old girl (yes, Ryan was in for some serious estrogen) arrived in one piece. Course, 3 people didn't have their luggage come but hey...clothes are cheap here and well, showers aren't really that important anyway.

A five year old in India? People had made me a little nervous about our decision to include her but her mother sounded amazing and said she was a world traveler so we chose to include her to see India through virgin eyes. The first morning Ryan led our group in a nice shoulder opening / hamstring stretching yoga class to get our bodies feeling normal again after such long airplane ride. We began with a meditation and at one point, I peaked and found little Sofie, wearing a pink Indian tunic shirt adorned with a bindi on her forehead sitting in full lotus position with her hands on her knees in meditation. I almost died at the adorable site and knew from that moment that we made the right decision. Sure enough, she has been a real gem to our group and is a truely old soul. I mean, how many 5 years olds would be totally comfortable hanging around a group of old women for 3 weeks? I can only imagine how different our children would be today if they practiced yoga from such an early age. Ritalin would surely be a thing of the past!

The group toured Delhi for 2 days. The early arrivals went to mass at Mother Teresa’s hospital and visited with people who were dying there…quite an intense experience. Some went to the historic Red Fort where the drive was for sure the best part since driving in Old Delhi is about as ridiculous as it gets. Even though there are lines drawn to indicate lanes, they are merely for show and 3 lanes really means 5-6 filled with cows, bike rickshaws, buses, tuk tuks (auto-rickshaw), cars, people and whatever else you can think of. Others went shopping at Fab India and somehow Ryan managed to find a guy on the street who cleans ears using a very small, very sharp tool to actually pull a lifetime of goop out of their ears. Only in India, huh? I am hoping to have this done when we go back….will it make me hear better?

The highlight was visiting Gandhi’s Smriti which is the house he lived in while in Delhi and where he was assassinated. It was so powerful and moving to be there. We walked the path he took to his final sermon, saw his actual glasses and spinning wheel, the house he lived in during the Partition and learned about the story of his life. Amazing!

From Delhi we flew in a small plane up to Dharamsala where His Holiness the Dalai Lama resides along with thousands of exiled Tibetan Buddhists. Nestled in the Himalayas, it is a really beautiful place and while the air pollution has gotten the best of the clear views, the beauty to me rests more in the Tibetan people than anything else. They are such a peaceful group and watching monks walking along the streets is worth the trip alone. It was funny to see monks on their cell phones but hey, we are living in modern times right? The teachings were much smaller than I anticipated and about 1000 people crammed into his residence twice a day for 2 hours at a stretch to listen to him speak. Foreigners could listen to the translation on their own radio since he spoke in Tibetan. Just listening to his voice, watching the Tibetans enthralled by the whole event and hearing all the monks chant was more interesting than the translator. His message was interesting of course, but the translator just didn’t have the voice that HH has. At the end of each teaching he would walk down the aisle with that smile that goes from ear to ear. What a presence and people would bow down as if he were Buddha himself.

Due to the intensity of the teachings, we also had optional daily activities. We began the morning with 2 yoga classes taught by either Ryan or myself (the room was too small for the whole group) starting at 7. A Tibetan named Lhamo taught some of us how to make Momos which are similar to pot stickers only steamed and filled with various stuffings…we made veggie, spinach and cheese and a sweet one. Each momo used a different “pinching” technique which we practiced several times before we actually used the stuffing. We also learned how to eat them authentically with a soy sauce, ketchup, chili powder, cabbage and carrot concoction. Yum!

Another day we hiked to a waterfall that went up to snow line. It was so nice to be on the trails and we even managed to pick up a pack of dogs who followed us for the entire 6 hour journey. With several of the women from Ketchum, it definitely felt like home. But we also had women from Minnesota, Texas and Arizona who weren’t used to that type of activity (or weather) and kicked butt to even be there! It even hailed and snowed a bit on our way down. Nobody even commented on it really…talk about low maintenance. My kinda ladies!

Our local guide was the Colonel who I used last year. He got a little Army us and was a little too organized for our group but he did manage to pull out a really nice day. We first visited a museum of Tibetan medicine and then went to the doctor at the nearby hospital where a few people who were sick wanted to get some medicine. Next thing we knew, the entire group saw the doctor to see what our ailments were and what pills (herbs of course) and teas we needed. They took our pulse to determine our conditions and for the most part, they were pretty close on the diagnosis. Doctor visit + medicines = about $8. That was super interesting and unexpected and we all learned a lot.

From there we drove to a tea plantation to see how tea is made and then continued on to a real local Hindu temple in Kangra. It’s always nice to see India through new eyes and this temple was a real treat for the 8 of us. The brightly colored walkway to the temple was lined with shops selling various offerings to bring to the temple. Some women bought the coconut/rice kit and when we entered the temple, offered it to Lord Shiva. In return, the women received shawls and tikkas on their foreheads. Since it happened to be Tues (holy day) there was a group of women singing who invited us to sing along with them. The women possessed such energy and their soulful music was felt by all. Everyone enjoyed clapping along and listening to the music and just hanging out with them. Course, we later learned that they were singing were about things like if they found their husband cheating on them, they’d ring his neck and all sorts of funny things which gave us a good laugh….

On our last night, we drove to the Colonel’s house for a bonfire. We didn’t realize the extent of the bonfire but it was all set up in his backyard with huge sticks. When he started to pour gas on it, we’re like, are you SURE you need that much gas? A few women lit it with tiki tourches (luckily nothing exploded) and the Colonel’s wife led us through a wedding ritual involving a mantra and throwing rice on the fire. We then ate snacks and Indian treats. It was great to experience a real Indian family’s home life and share stories.

The final morning we all walked to a waterfall just outside town. I had scoped out a really nice spot to do yoga along the river so we ventured out for some morning yoga. We even had 2 dogs and an Indian man selling “head massages” join us. It was so wonderful to do yoga outside at the foot of the Himalayas communing with nature. Even Ryan said it might have been his favorite place ever to teach.

From Dharamsala, we took a 3 hour jeep ride to the train station for our first train experience. I had geared everyone up for Hell and it was probably the easiest train ride of my life. There weren’t even any Chai people to bug everyone? What’s up with that? Normally you are constantly berated by the sound of “Chai, Chai, Chai” about a million times in this high pitch voice. Oh well. No complaints since we'd way rather have travel be smooth since it so rarely is!

Now we are in Rishikesh attending the 2008 International Yoga Festival at the ashram where I stayed last year. I definitely need some time to digest what is actually happening to our group. All I can say is this city embodies the essence of India. It is unlike any other place in the world. What we have experienced in three days most people won’t in their lifetime of studying yoga in the west. It is the true eastern aspect of this ancient science and the reason why people travel here. About 500 people have come together from all around the globe and the positive energy and love surrounding us is infectious. And as Ryan said today, the teachers, swamis and saints are 1st tier which none of us were totally expecting.

India is definitely not for everyone. The people who are here came here for some reason, pulled by a higher power to come experience it. Those who embrace it leave home a changed person. Those who fight it get spit out quickly. It is truly the opposite of our society…the dirt, poverty, chaos, laziness, are all on the surface and some would find it hard to get past this and wouldn’t be able to enjoy themselves. But it is so much deeper than the surface. Unlike our Western culture where appearance is everything and we live too much on the surface, the essence here lies within. There is an openness of heart that sets it apart. It’s not about the outside, it’s about what’s inside. It is about the love and the realization that we are all human beings with a connection to each other. Love will get us through the bad times and carry us into the good times. Finding that inner light and sharing it with others is what life is about. While money is nice, it certainly doesn’t make happiness. Bliss must be cultivated by an internal quest and search for the truth.

Just a side note about our group…I have been traveled with groups in the past and never have I experienced one like this. Everyone has become best friends. There is such a feeling of community filled with respect and laughter and we are just having so much fun! The ages range from 27 – 58 and it so doesn’t even matter. We are all here to share this experience together and the women have been so accommodating and flexible and have made our job so easy. Our plans have changed 100 times at least, our accommodations haven’t been the best, a few have been a little sick and not one person has complained one time. We are so fortunate and I am so thankful for this and can’t wait to pursue our friendships after this is all said and done.

Finally….moving to the jungle... if anyone is interested in going to Costa Rica with Ryan from April 3 –11, please let us know. The Osa Peninsula is truly paradise and it will be an amazing week of yoga, surfing, hiking, relaxing and just being in one of the most pristine jungles in the world. There is more information on our website: www.redbacktravels.com

Til next time….Namaste